PHI454 The Scientific Revolution 1500-1700 -Galileo Galilie -Corpenicus -Science and Religion

1. PHI454 HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Question 3 :
The Scientific Revolution (1500-1700)
Lecturer : MADAM ZATI IWANIBINTI ABDUL MANAF
Prepared by : WAN SYAHIMI AFIQ BIN WAN AHLIM
Matrix Number : 2015166061
Lecture Group : D1CS2491A

2. The Scientific Revolution (1500-1700)
a) Copernicus Sun-Centered Theory.
• The problems & complexities of the geocentric model caused Nicholas Copernicus
(1473-1543) to examine an alternative sun-centered or heliocentric model of the
solar system.
• His model proposed that:
• The Sun is at the center of the Universe.
• The distance between the Earth and the stars is much greater than the Earth-Sun
distance. This would explain the lack of observed stellar parallax.
• The east to west daily motions of stars, planets, the Moon, and the Sun are caused
by the rotation of the Earth on its axis.
• The Earth and all the planets revolve around the Sun on circular orbits. This
produces the change in constellations observed from one time of year to the next.
• Retrograde motion is an illusion caused by the fact that we are observing other
planets on the planet Earth which itself is moving around the Sun.
• Although Copernicus' idea of a heliocentric solar system is correct, his assumption
of circular orbits made his model no more accurate than that of Ptolemy.
b) Galileo’s telescopic observations of the moon, Jupiter and the sun.
Moon
• In January 1610, Galileo became the first person to record observations of the sky
made with the help of a telescope. He soon made his first astronomical discovery.
•On the moon he saw the border line of the illuminated part irregularly broken.
• In the dark part he saw, near the border line, isolated light patches, which, as the
moon waxed, grew larger and merged with the illuminated part; clearly they were
mountain tops.
• At the time, most scientists believed that the Moon was a smooth sphere, but
Galileo discovered that the Moon has mountains, pits, and other features, just like
the Earth.
Jupiter
• Looking at Jupiter, he perceived on January 7, 1610, three small stars, on January
13th one more; they accompanied Jupiter in its progress, but every other night in a
different formation, moving to and fro.
• Galileo discover the planet had four "stars" in total surrounding it.

3. • Within days, Galileo figured out that these "stars" were actually moons in orbit of
Jupiter.
• In a letter of January 30th, Galileo called them new planets revolving about a larger
planet; in honor of the Grand Duke of Tuscany he named them ‘Medicean stars.’
• That these bodies clearly described orbits about Jupiter as their centre showed that
the earth cannot be the center of all movements and therefore, gave support to the
system of Copernicus.
Sun
• Curious about the Sun, Galileo used his telescope to learn more.
• Not knowing that looking at our very own star would damage his eyesight, Galileo
pointed his telescope towards the Sun.
• He discovered that the sun has sunspots, which appear to be dark in color.
(reference: National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2009/02/25/our-solar-system-galileos-
observations-of-the-moon-jupiter-venus-and-the-sun)
c) The conflict of Science and Religion.
 Religion vs. science conflicts have existed for hundreds of years and will
probably continue indefinitely because the two sides have different concepts
of "truth."
 Science is ultimately based on observation of nature.
 Religion is largely based on faith.
Galileo and Roman Catholic Church.
• The most famous conflict was between Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and the Roman
Catholic Church, largely over the movements within the solar system.
• The Church interpreted the Bible as teaching the geocentric system in which the
Earth is at the center of the universe. The Sun, Moon, other planets and stars revolve
around the Earth.
• Galileo taught the heliocentric system in which the Sun is the center of the solar
system, the Earth and other planets revolved around the Sun, the Moon revolved
around the Earth, and the stars were at incredible distances.
• Galileo was tried by the Inquisition, condemned as a heretic, and spent the rest of
his life in house arrest. According to an article in the web site of the National Center
for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564400/), on 1992-OCT-31, some
350 years after Galileo's death:

4. "... Pope John Paul II gave an address on behalf of the Catholic Church in which
he admitted that errors had been made by the theological advisors in the case of
Galileo. He declared the Galileo case closed, but he did not admit that the
Church was wrong to convict Galileo on a charge of heresy ..."
Creation Science and Evolution
• Many conservative Christians conclude that a literal interpretation of Genesis in the
Hebrew Scriptures indicates that God created the world during a six day, 144 hour
period, sometime between 4004 and perhaps 8000 BCE.
• Cosmologists have reached a near consensus that the universe is about 13.7 billion
years old and that the Earth coalesced about 4.5 billion years ago.
• Many conservative Christians accept a literal interpretation of the biblical book of
Genesis which seems to imply that all of the species of plant and animal life were
created during this six day interval.
• Essentially all biologists believe that the various species evolved over hundreds of
millions of years, mainly or completely through the processes of natural selection.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons and Transsexuals (The LGBT
Community)
• Human sexuality researchers and therapists have reached a near consensus that
homosexuality is a minority sexual orientation, one of three natural, normal
orientations, mainly caused by genes. It is considered to be unchosen and
unchangeable or essentially so during adulthood.
• Many religious conservatives believe that it is an unnatural, abnormal lifestyle,
mainly caused by inadequate parenting and/or sexual molestation during childhood;
it is chosen, and can be changed.
• Researchers and therapists have reached a near consensus that transgenderism is
caused by hormonal imbalances in the womb; they often recommend gender
reassignment surgery if the individual qualifies. Transgender persons often describe
themselves as being female trapped in a male body, or vice versa. Many religious
conservatives believe that it is a caused by gender confusion and is treatable through
prayer and counseling; many feel that gender reassignment surgery is a very serious
sin.

5. REFERENCE
Kuhn, Thomas S. 1985. The Copernican Revolution—Planetary Astronomy in the
Development of Western Thought. Cambridge, Mississippi: Harvard University Press.
MacLachlan J. 1999. Galileo Galilei: first physicist. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Michael White. 1999. Galileo Galilei: inventor, astronomer, and rebel. San Diego;
Blackbirch Press.
Phillips Davis (NASA news editor). 10 February 2011. “Our Solar System: Galileo's
Observations of the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and the Sun.”
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2009/02/25/our-solar-system-galileos-
observations-of-the-moon-jupiter-venus-and-the-sun
Br J Sports Med (NCBI news editor). September 2006. “Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564400/
B.A. Robinson 17 March 2012. “Conflicts between science and religion”
http://www.religioustolerance.org/scirel_ov1.htm